Rough handling indicator



Oct. 30, 1956 A. H. EICHHOLZ ET AL 2,768,602

ROUGH HANDLING INDICATOR Filed Jan. 19, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 22 22 /21 Y 1M6 15 15 Arthur H .E'z'chholz I Henry Samuelson 1956 A. H. EICHHOLZ ET AL 2,768,602

ROUGH HANDLING INDICATOR Filed Jan. 19, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 5 WARNING THIS SHIPMENT PROTECTED BY THE TATTLE-TALE BUG" BudHAs SHIFTED INTO HEAD OF ARROW CHECK FOR DAMAGE BEFORE ACCEPTING Arthur H .EichhoZZ Henry Samuelson United States Patent 2,768,602 ROUGH HANDLING INDICATOR Arthur H. Eichholz and Henry Samuelson, Polo, Ill., as-

signors to Central Stamping and Manufacturing Company, P010, 11]., a corporation of Illinois This invention relates to a rough handling indicator device for application to the outside of shipping cartons and crates and also to box-cars and other freight handling carriers to serve first of all as a protection against and secondly as a telltale in the event of rough handling, so that the consignee may be warned to check for possible damage to the shipment before acceptance, whereby to furnish proof and settle arguments as to liability for careless handling.

The principal object of our invention is to provide a slidable element or bug normally disposed in a retracted position at one end of a narrow channel defining the shaft portion of a vertical or somewhat inclined arrow-shaped recess in a container, at least one wall of which is of transparent material so that the position of the bug may be easily checked, and, if the carton on which the device has been provided has been upset, turned upside down, or

as, for example, by humping, Where a car is pushed over the hump in switching and allowed to roll freely down the incline on the far side and bang into standing cars with more or less violent impact, in which event a sutficiently violent impact would cause dislodging of the bug from the shaft of the arrow upwardly into the head end and serve as a Warning to the consignee that the shipment had better be checked for damage before acceptance. The angle of inclination of the arrow may be changed for different kinds of shipments, anywhere from say 30 to say 50 from the horizontal, it requiring, of course, a far more violent impact to dislodge the bug when the arrow is set around 50 than when it is set around 30".

Another object of our invention is to provide in devices of the kind mentioned, a pull-string that is lodged in the shaft of the arrow holding the bug retracted until the carton or boxcar to which the device is applied is ready to go, at which time the projecting end of the string that is suitably held down with a tag of adhesive tape is pulled to remove the string, thereby setting the bug free to serve its intended purpose. The bug is preferably of brass or other non-magnetic material so that it cannot be tampered with by means of a magnet and also is not subject to corrosion and the consequent likelihood of sticking. Also, the ends of the bug preferably have V-shaped notches provided therein which are as wide as the ends of the bug to reduce to a minimum any possibility of the bug being replaced in the shaft of the arrow by manipulation of the package once the bug has left the shaft and lodged in the head of the arrow.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- 2,758,602 Fatentedoct. 30, 1956 Fig. 1 is a face view of a rough handling indicator made in accordance with our invention, the same being shown on an enlarged scale to enable better illustration;

Fig'. 2. is a cross-section on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 includes a face view and an edgwise View of the slidable element or bug;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a carton showing a typical application of the present device thereto for protection of the shipment against rough handling;

Fig. 5 is a full-size illustration of the label shown in Fig. 4, and

Figs. 6 and 7 are illustrations of how the devices appear when applied to the side of a box-car to indicate too rough handling of the car in transit.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4, the reference numeral 10 designates the rough handling indicator generally, the same consisting of a container 11 having an arrow-shaped recess 12 therein providing an elongated vertical channel in the shaft portion 13 and an arrow-head shaped chamber inthe upper end portion 14, and a movable slide element or bug 15 that is normally disposed in a retracted position in the lower end of the shaft 13 but is adapted to slide out of this narrow channel into the arrow-head shaped chamber 14, whereby to indicate that the package or crate on which the device 10 has been applied has been upset, turned over, or subjected to other rough handling. The container 11 may be of any suitable or preferred shape, the one shown here being circular. We prefer to make the body 16 of the container 11 of transparent plastic material so that the arrow-shaped recess 12 provided therein and the bug 15 are readily visible through the front wall 17. A shallow circular recess 18, which is of a large enough radius to circumscribe the arrow-shaped recess 12, is provided in the back of the body 16 and receives a closure 19. The closure 19 may be of cardboard or thin sheet brass or other non-corrosive, non-magnetic material, or may be of sheet plastic material. In any event, the closure 19 preferably has a snug lit in recess 18 and is preferably secured in place by staking or tacking the plastic material of the body 16 at a number of circumferentially spaced points, as indicated at 20 in Fig. l, by application of heat and pressure, thereby swedging enough of the plastic material of the body 16 over the edge of the closure to hold it in place. The moveable element or bug 15 is punched from thin sheet or strip brass somewhat thinner than the depth of the recess 12, so that the bug 15 will have working clearance in the recess, and all sharp edges on the bug are smoothed so that it will slide freely. Brass is preferred for the bug 15 because it is non-magnetic and non-corrosive and of sufiicient weight to serve the present purposes, but any other material having similar characteristics may be used. The opposite ends of the rectangular bug 15 have V-shaped notches 21 provided therein which are as wide as the ends of the bug so as to define fairly sharp points 22 at the corners, which, when brought into contact with the more or less sharply defined points 23 at the juncture of the shaft 13 and head 14 of the arrow-shaped recess 12, help to direct the bug away from the shaft 14 to one side or the other of the head portion 14 to lodge in the entrance of the shaft portion 13 with the point 23 engaged in I the notch 21 inone end of the bug. A hole 24 is provided sive tape and bearing suitable instructions thereon, as in; dicated at 27, serves to fasten the outer end portion of the string 25 to the outer side of the device and reduces likelihood of the string being pulled out before the right time for it arrives.

In operation, a printed warning label 28 is preferably applied to the outside of the carton or crate C along with the indicator 10, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, so that those accepting the shipment for handling are warned at the outset concerning the need for careful handling, and later, when the destination is reached, the one receiving the carton or crate notices at once that the shipper has taken special precautions in making the shipment and he sees at once what to do for his own protection. It takes him only a moment to check the position of the bug 15, and if it has shifted into the head end of the arrow 12 it is an indication that the carton or crate has been upset or given other rough handling and it is therefore advisable that the contents be checked for damage before acceptance. Assuming the carton C contains certain chemicals or chemical apparatus that cannot be turned upside down safely the importance of having this safeguard can readily be appreciated. That is also true of many other things which have heretofore been protected only by This end up signs on the cartons or crates. The close fit of the bug in the shaft coupled with the notched construction of the ends of the bug make .it too difficult for anyone by manipulation of the carton or crate to reenter either end of the bug in the outer end of the shaft 13 once the bug gets out. The notched ends 21 tend to catch on one or the other of the points 23 whenever the bug i fairly closely aligned with the shaft 13 and might otherwise be caused to enter it. In the case of an application to a box-car, the same or a similar label 28 may be used, as indicated in Figs. 6 and 7, but in that application usually two indicators are applied, one having the arrow 12 inclined in one direction, as in Fig. 6, and the other having the arrow 12 inclined in the opposite direction, as in Fig. 7. The angle of inclination shown is 30 but any inclination between say 30 or less and say 50 or more may be used, depending on the kind of shipment and the danger of damage by rough handling, it being obvious that the larger the angle of inclination from a horizontal the greater the impact necessary to dislodge the bug :from the shaft of the arrow, and vice versa.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of our invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

We claim:

1. A rough handling indicator for protection of merchandise in shipment against rough handling, said indicator comprising a container of shallow depth in relation to its other dimensions and adapted to be used disposed in a substantially vertical plane, said container having an elongated narrow channel provided therein communciating at its upper end with a relatively wide chamber that is visible from outside said indicator container, the cham ber extending laterally to an appreciable extent from opposite sides of the entrance to said channel and also appreciably in a direct line away from said channeL'and an elongated slidable telltale element movable with small clearance out of said channel into said chamber in the event of rough handling, the entrance to the channel from the chamber being defined between surfaces that are oppositely inclined sharply downwardly away from the entrance, whereby to increase the diflieulty of reentering either end of the telltale element into the channel after the element gets out into the chamber, the opposite ends of said element having V-notches formed therein that are as wide as the ends of the element, whereby to tend to catch either end on either side of the entrance to the channel and thereby further increase the difiiculty of reentering either end of the telltale element into the channel after the element gets out in the chamber.

2. A rough handling indicator for protection of merchandise in shipment against rough handling, said indicator comprising a one-piece body of transparent material of small thickness in relation to its other dimensions and adapted to be used disposed in a substantially vertical plane, said body having a recess of uniform depth formed in one side thereof representing a portion of the thickness of said body, said recess defining an elongated narrow channel communicating at what is normally its upper end with a relatively Wide chamber, the chamber extending laterally to an appreciable extent from opposite sides of the entrance to said channel and also appreciably in a direct line away from said channel, and an elongated slidable telltale element movable with small clearance out of said channel into said chamber in the event of rough handling, and a closure on said body confining said telltale element in said recess, the entrance to the channel from the chamber being defined between surfaces that are oppositely inclined sharply downwardly away from the entrance, whereby to increase the difficulty of reenteringeither end of the telltale element into the channel after the element gets out into the chamber.

3. A rough handling indicator for protection of merchandise in shipment against rough handling, said indicator comprising a one-piece body of transparent material of small thickness -in-re1ation to its other dimensions and adapted to be used disposed in a substantially vertical plane, said bod-y having a recess of uniform depth formed in'one side thereof representing a portion of the thickness of said body, said recess defining an elongated narrow channel communicating at what is normally its upper end with a relatively wide chamber, the chamber extending laterally to an appreciable extent from opposite sides of the entrance to said channel and also appreciably in a direct line away from said channel, and an elongated slidable telltale element movable with small clearance out of said channel into said chamber in the event of rough handling, and a closure on said body confining said telltale element in said recess, the entrance to the channel from the chamber being defined between surfaces that are oppositely inclined sharply downwardly away from the entrance, whereby to increase the dilficulty of reentering either end of the telltale element into the channel afterthe element gets out into the chamber, the opposite ends of said element having V-notches formed therein that are as wide as the ends of the element, whereby to tend to catch either end on either side of the entrance to the channel, and thereby further increase the difiiculty of reentering either end of the telltale element into the channel after the element gets out into the chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,483,708 Bell Feb. 12, 1924 1,842,384 Blanchard Jan. 26, 1932 2,119,145 Zadig May 31, 1938 2,601,440 Kerrigan June 24, 1952 2,674,221 Tinsley Apr. 6, 1954 

